Know How Much You Need
Just because you are at the bulk bins in your local supermarket, you do not have to take home a year’s supply worth of coffee beans or cashew nuts at once. Understand how much food you can take home and utilize before it starts to go bad. For example, coffee grounds might have a stale taste to them after a couple of months, but if you buy nuts, they will probably stay good to watch for a long time!
Take Your Own Containers
The best way to add to less packaging is by taking your own containers and bags to store the goods you are investing in. You can take bulk bins, jars, and tote bags to carry your own items. Make sure that the containers you use are clean and dry to prevent any contaminants from entering the food and spoiling it.
Learn How To Properly Preserve Food And Prevent Spoilage
It is usually not recommended to buy perishables in bulk. So if you are a single person living in your house, you should probably not buy 12bananas (unless you eat 6 per day) since they will spoil and likely spoil the foods around them as well.
However, for the perishables you do buy, you should learn to preserve them and prevent them from spoiling quickly so they can last you for awhile. For example, you can freeze, cure, pickle, and dry some of your favorite foods to make them last longer.
Lots of fruits and vegetables can be pickled and stored for a long time. You can also use overripe fruits in recipes such as bananas for banana bread. All of these options are better than throwing food in the trash.
Similarly, after you have brought your produce home, you should store it properly to prevent spoiling. Fruits like bananas, tomatoes, and cantaloupes release ethylene gas when they ripen, which can also ripen or even spoil other fruits and vegetables if stored too close.
Final Thoughts
If you buy food in bulk and learn to store it correctly, you will be doing the world a huge favor. Reducing packaging and food waste is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint and adopt a sustainable lifestyle.
